Police seize cache of 3D printed guns from Cranbourne house
A cache of 3D printed guns has been seized in a raid on a Cranbourne home, with police fighting to stay ahead of the manufactured weapon threat.
Police & Courts
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A cache of 3D printed guns have been seized in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs.
Detectives from Frankston CIU uncovered the weapons during a major investigation into gun trafficking and manufacturing.
Five were found in a raid on a Cranbourne house this week.
The inquiry started after the arrest of 24-year-old man in Langwarrin on March 23 this year.
He was found to be carrying an imitation handgun.
Investigators later searched a Carrum Downs factory two months later and found two handguns, one of which was allegedly created on a 3D printer.
A 32-year-old Carrum Downs man was arrested and charged with being a prohibited person in charge of firearms and possessing a drug of dependence.
He was later sentenced to four months imprisonment after appearing in Frankston Magistrates’ Court.
Another raid at Cranbourne East house this week uncovered;
Five 3D printed handguns, one of which could fire shotgun rounds
A semi-automatic handgun
Other 3D firearms parts, including barrels, magazines, and frames
A 3D printer and ammunition.
A 31-year-old male was arrested at the house and charged with manufacturing and trafficking firearms.
He is on remanded to appear at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on September 12.
A total of nine guns, six of them manufactured on 3D printers, have been seized during the operation.
Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Fyffe said investigators had dismantled a local firearms manufacturing enterprise.
“It is illegal to manufacture firearms without a licence, and that includes 3D printed guns,” Sergeant Fyffe said.
“As police, we are constantly evolving to combat new and emerging trends used by criminals. We’ve been monitoring the issue of 3D printed firearms for a number of years and there are serious repercussions associated with this kind of activity.
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